


Gou's Matchmaking Service

by kickcows



Series: First Love [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Falling In Love, Fluff, Free! Kink Meme, M/M, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-09
Updated: 2013-10-17
Packaged: 2017-12-28 21:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/996716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kickcows/pseuds/kickcows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Gou constantly spams her brother with pictures of Makoto, what will that do to Rin? Is she trying to play matchmaker, or is she just trying to drive her brother insane? Set after the events on the island.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pictures

**Author's Note:**

> From the [Free! Kink meme](http://iwatobiswimclub.dreamwidth.org/1476.html?thread=1187268#cmt1187268) \- Anon suggests: The only hint Gou has that his brother worries for his old friends is when he asked her about Makoto at the island. So she decides to force it a little more, and starts texting Rin about how awesome Makoto-senpai is, the things he does and she even sends him pictures. At first Rin doesn't like it, but then he finds himself laughing at the things Makoto does, watching Makoto's pictures and waiting for Gou's next mail. And then he starts to think his sister has a crush on Makoto... and anon can go wherever anon likes after that. :) 
> 
> Hope you like this, anon! Thanks for the wonderful prompt!

* * *

Rin stared at the chalkboard, listening to his teacher drone on and on when he felt the familiar vibration of his phone, altering him to a text message. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled it out, flipping it open to see another picture message from his younger sister. Pushing the button to see the attachment, he snorted a little too loudly, the picture making him roll his eyes.

“Am I boring you, Matsuoka-san?” The teacher turned around to look at him, as he quickly snapped the phone closed.

He shook his head, putting the phone back into his pocket, not wanting the object to be taken away for the rest of the afternoon. But he couldn’t have helped his reaction, after what he had seen.

Makoto had been about to dive into the pool, but it looked like Nagisa had ambushed him and had pushed him into the water instead, the flailing Makoto captured on his sister’s camera phone. The look of abject horror on Makoto’s face, the realization that he would not be swan diving into the pool, was all it took to make Rin have that reaction.

Paying attention once more, he blocked the thought of his old friends having fun without him. He didn’t like thinking about them, but it seemed that his sister was being the ever persistent one. Since he had seen her on the beach, when Samezuka's swim team had gone to the island to train, and had asked her about Makoto, and how he felt training in the ocean, it seemed that picture after picture kept coming to his phone.

When the class ended, he grabbed his bookbag and put it over his shoulder. Pulling his phone back out of his pocket, he sent a text to his sister. “ _Stop bugging me during class. I almost got into trouble because of you.”_ He hit send, and placed the phone back into his pocket.

“Senpai!” Nitori came running up from behind him. “Senpai! I heard you got called out in class!”

Rin rolled his eyes. “Word sure gets around this school fast.” He put both of his hands in his pockets and walked towards the sports center. “Why do you care?”

“Because! I don’t want Senpai to be benched! We need you on the team!” Nitori’s blue eyes were bright with worry. “What were you doing to get called out?”

He felt his phone vibrate in his hand. “I looked at my phone. So what?” He flipped his hair back, as he pushed the swinging door open to the locker room.

“Was there an emergency?” Nitori asked, genuinely concerned. “People don’t normally text you during the day, do they, Senpai?”

Opening his locker, Rin shook his head. “No, not really. Just my sister being nuts.” He got changed into his swimsuit, and placed his bag and clothes in the locker, forgetting about his phone.

“You should tell her to not bother you while school is in session. I’m surprised their school lets them text during class time.” Nitori nodded his head, holding two towels in his hands. “I grabbed a towel for you!”

The two walked towards the pool together. “Thanks, Nitori.”

As their practice began, Rin found himself thinking about what the practice sessions for Makoto were like. He snapped his goggles against the back of his head, a grimace coming over his face as he approached the starting block. Did they drill constantlly like his new swim team did? Or, were they lackisdasical with their routine, doing whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted? He'd have to remember to ask Gou, if she'd even give him a straight answer. She may play the 'manager' card, and tell him she can't say anything to him because he's on the 'competing' team. 

“Something the matter, Matsuoka?” Seijuurou eyeballed him, as the others dove into the water, starting to practice their relay laps.

Rin shook his head. “No, captain. Not at all.” He stood at the edge and dove in, landing the dive perfectly, unlike the blonde captain at Iwatobi, quite the opposite from the picture he had received that afternoon. _What the hell? Why do I even care?_ Rin popped up out of the water and began to swim the butterfly stroke, following the captain’s orders to choose whatever stroke they wanted to use for working out.

The practice flew by fast. Two hours seemed like only fifteen minutes to the now somewhat focused redhead. Except he still thought about the drills that Makoto's swim team must go through. Rin hopped out of the pool last, grabbing onto Nitori's hand to help him out of the pool. Nitori handed him a towel, which he took without pause. “Thanks, Nitori.” The two headed back to the locker room.

“Did you want to go get some food in the mess hall, Senpai?” Nitori asked. They had both just finished taking a shower, and were getting dressed back in their clothes.

“We can, I guess. I thought I’d just go back to the room and work on homework.” Rin pulled out his phone and groaned loud.

“What is it, Senpai?” Nitori asked, immediately worried.

“Nothing. Just my sister, being annoying again.” He saw he had four missed texts from her, apparently one for every half hour he had failed to text her back. He clicked through the messages, his finger lingering on the arrow key, staring for a moment at one picture in particular.

Gou’s comment on the picture was, “ _Doesn’t he look nice wet, nii-san?_ ” Makoto was just coming up out of the water, the look on his face was one like he had no care in the world. At peace with everything around him. Rin stared at the photo, entranced by his wet hair, his toned arms, and just everything about him. His sister was definitely on to something. Makoto did look quite nice dripping wet.

“Senpai?”

He quickly scrolled to the next message as Nitori tried to look at his phone. “You ready to go get some food?” He took a quick glance at the last picture, another one of just Makoto, with a big smile on his face. He had to wonder how his sister was getting all of these pictures of just him, and not with the others. He knew that Haru, Nagisa and probably that one guy were always with him. When they had been in school, he knew that they were always together. If he didn’t know any better, Rin would think that his sister had a crush on him.

He slammed his locker shut with a bit more force than he intended. He heard Nitori squeak, and stared at the small dent he had made in the locker. “Sorry.” Rin muttered, as he left the locker room, knowing that Nitori would be on his heels. He didn’t know where the anger had suddenly come from, and felt weird just thinking about it.

After they ate dinner, he sent a text to his sister, after not receiving anything from her since earlier. “ _You aren’t dating Makoto, are you?_ ” He listened to Nitori complain about the piles of homework he had for his science class, but really wasn’t paying any attention. He was waiting to feel his phone vibrate again, needing to know if his sister was indeed into Makoto.

It was an agonizing two hours before he finally got a message from Gou. “ _What? Makoto-senpai? No way!_ ”

“ _Then why do you keep sending me pictures of him?_ ” Rin threw his phone on his bed, listening to Nitori’s pen scratch against the pad of paper he was doing his homework on. The phone buzzed again, almost immediately, much to the redhead’s reserved delight.

“ _If they’re bothering you, nii-san, I won’t send anymore.”_

Rin typed fast. “ _I didn’t say that. I just didn’t know why you keep sending me pictures._ ”

He waited for her to reply, relief flooding through him when another message popped up from her. “ _I just thought you might like seeing him, since you were so concerned about him before._ ”

“ _Thanks, Gou._ ” There was no point in denying it, as he did like seeing him. He liked it a lot more than he was ready to admit to himself. He left it at that, and went back to his reading, satisfied by her answer.

And so it went, for about a week, as his sister sent him picture after picture of the antics of Makoto. He laughed outright in class when she sent him a picture of Makoto trying to grab Haru from diving into a fish tank at the pet store, telling him it had been taken over the weekend. He got his phone taken away from him, and wouldn’t be able to get it back until the end of school day. He fumed for the rest of class, feeling somewhat naked without the phone in his pocket. He grabbed it after class, muttering a half-hearted apology to the teacher, and made his way to the pool, not bothering to check his phone as there was no time. If he didn't hurry, he would be late, and he didn't want to have to run laps around the pool to make up for his lack of discipline. 

Once swim practice was over, Rin checked his phone to see if any other new messages had come since the one that had got him in trouble in class. But there were no new messages, and he somehow felt….let down. He wanted to see more, but there was nothing from his sister. _Did I remember to reply back to her?_ He scrolled through his texts, finding the last one she had sent. And there it was - no reply. _Crap._ He quickly typed out a reply to her. “ _Hahaha. Poor Makoto. Sorry for late reply. Got phone taken away from me.”_ He felt a little better, hoping that the only reason she hadn’t sent anything else was because he had forgotten to reply back to her.

“Everything okay, Senpai?” Nitori was standing right next to him.

“I think so.” Rin nodded, placing his phone back into his pocket. “Food?”

“Yes!”

It was almost midnight, and still no text from Gou. He couldn’t sleep. All he could do was toss and turn, each picture that she had sent to him playing like a movie in his mind. Makoto falling into the pool, Makoto swimming, Makoto smiling, Makoto trying to corral Haru. Just Makoto. He hit his mattress with his fist, pissed off at himself for constantly thinking about him. He heard Nitori snort in his sleep, making Rin freeze. He waited until Nitori’s snores began again before moving around on the bed. He grabbed his phone, checking it one more time, his stomach clenching as he saw ‘No new messages’ displayed on his phone. Swinging his legs off the bed, he stood up quietly and left the dorm room, not wanting to wake up his roommate.

As he stepped outside to the hallway, he pressed the number 2 on his phone, his sister’s speed dial number. He listened to her phone ring half a ring, then went straight to voicemail.

“Hi! You missed me, but leave a message and I’ll call you back!”

Rin pressed the red button, hanging up on the call. _Maybe she just went to sleep and turned her phone off._ A small part of him was worried, but he knew that his sister was probably just trying to get under his skin. And it was working. He looked at the clock on his phone, and saw it was now half past midnight, and still he wasn’t tired. There was only one alternative to get him to sleep, and as he thought about it, his palms began to sweat as his nerves kicked in.

His finger scrolled through his contacts until he reached the thirteenth letter of the alphabet, trembling slightly. He knew it was late, and the idea of him actually picking up didn’t even cross Rin’s mind. He was the reason Rin couldn’t sleep, so maybe if he spoke to him, sleep would finally show up. He held the call button down, until the phone began dialing. When it rang for a second, Rin chickened out and ended the call, hoping that it never connected. He closed his phone tightly and began to head back towards his dorm room, having walked the length of the hall, one of his nervous habits.

Placing his hand on the door, he froze as his phone began to ring. His eyes tripled in size as he looked down at the call, scared to see his name. After the second ring, he made eye contact with his phone and almost dropped it. Flipping open the phone, he spoke quietly, “Hello?”

“Rin?” A soft yawn sent a shiver through Rin’s body. “Did you just call me?”

“Sorry if I woke you up. I was just…” He tried to think of a valid reason why he would call Makoto this late in the night. “Have you heard from Gou? I can’t reach her.”

“Gou??” Makoto now sounded more awake. “No, I haven’t. Did something happen to her? Do you want me to call the others? See if they’ve heard from her?”

“No, no.” Rin groaned, forgetting that Makoto would jump into action if he was needed. “No, I’m sure she just went to bed. Again, sorry I woke you up.”

There was a slight pause, Rin’s stomach starting to do funny things as he nervously waited for a goodbye. He didn’t want to just hang up on him, even though it was his own fault for waking him up at this hour. Opening his mouth to give an official farewell, he was stopped when Makoto finally began to speak.

“I don’t mind that you called this late. You’re worried about your sister. I understand. And Rin?”

“Yeah?” He replied quickly, his cheeks becoming warm, hating himself for replying so fast.

“It’s nice to hear your voice. You know you can call me whenever you want.” Makoto yawned again, his voice becoming softer. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” Rin whispered, shocked by the truth that came out of his mouth. He heard a low snore in the receiver of the phone. “Makoto?”

All he heard was another snore. He said a quiet goodbye, hoping that the other’s phone would end the call automatically when he hung up. He went back into his dorm room, walking a little bit lighter than he had when he left, only one thing on his mind.

As he laid back down, his phone rang again. Glancing at it, he saw it was finally his sister. He pressed the button to answer the call, waiting for her to speak first. “Onii-chan?”

“Gou? Did you just wake up?” He spoke quietly, making sure that Nitori was still snoring.

“Yah. I think my phone turned off when I plugged it in to charge.”

Rin turned on his side to face the wall, picturing Makoto doing the same thing, a small smile gracing his face. “Go back to sleep. Thanks for calling me back. I hope I didn’t make you worry today when I didn’t reply back right away.”

“It’s okay. I thought you were mad at me because I got you into trouble again. Do you still want me to stop sending those pics?”

“No, but…” Rin knew he was going to regret his suggestion, but couldn’t stop himself.

“But? But what, onii-chan?”

“Maybe this weekend, when I come home to see you and mom, will you take pictures of me and send them to him?” He couldn’t believe he was even saying it, but it was too late to take it back.

“Are you serious?! Do you like him, onii-chan?” Gou sounded more awake, her voice almost trilling too loud for Rin’s ears. He held the phone away, but then heard Nitori start to mumble in his sleep, quickly pressing it back against his head.

“Maybe I do. You’re the one to blame.” Rin spoke into his pillow. “Look, I gotta go. Good night, sis.”

Gou was still giggling, almost to the point of hyperventilating. “Okay, no problem onii-chan. Sweet dreams. Don’t have perverted dreams about Makoto-senpai!”

They both hung up, Rin’s stomach still doing funky things, as he thought about the conversation he had had with Makoto. He knew he sealed his fate for the weekend, but if his sister got him into this mess, then he hoped she would get Makoto into the same frame of mind. 

...

* * *

**A/N** : Thank you for reading! :) 


	2. Text Messages

It was a sunny Monday afternoon, and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Makoto walked leisurely to the pool with Nagisa and Rei, knowing that Haru was probably already in the water. He wasn’t really paying attention to the conversation that Nagisa was having with Rei, until they got to the pool. “Gou-chan, what are you doing?” Nagisa peeked over Gou’s shoulder, trying to get a look.

Startled, the younger sister of Rin turned around, snapping her phone shut. “Nothing! Why? Are you guys ready to practice?”

Makoto watched the scene, smiling at the interaction of his friends. It had been a week since Rin had called him, looking for his sister. If he hadn’t known better, he would have brushed it off as some sort of vivid dream. But when he looked at his phone the next morning, he had seen a missed call from Rin, his own finger hovering over the green button to call him again. He had spoken to Gou about it the next day, but she just said that her brother was being overprotective of her, and had wanted to make sure that she was okay. He didn’t think anything of it, until the weekend.

On Sunday, as he was trying to get the twins to do their homework, his phone had chimed, notifying him of a text message. Opening his phone, he saw that it was Gou, sending him a picture message. He expected to see a photo of drills to use, or perhaps a new regime, like the one she had found before they had gone to the island. He hadn’t expected to see the older Matsuoka, looking like he was out for a jog. For some odd reason, his heart had sped up a little, as he noticed Rin’s hair tied back. Shaking it off as nothing, he had typed back to her, asking her if she had sent that by mistake. But, he had never heard back from her.

“That’s why we’re here, yes?” Rei used his right hand to grab onto the bottom of his glasses, pushing them back up on his nose. “Haru-chan is already in the water?”

Gou nodded, pointing towards the deep end of the pool. “You guys gonna go and get changed?”

“Hai!” Nagisa dragged Rei towards the locker room, leaving Makoto behind. _Perfect_.

He walked over to her, and tapped her on the shoulder. “Kou-chan? Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Oh, sure!” Gou looked at him. “What can I help you with, Makoto-san?”

“Um, well...did you send me a picture message yesterday? Because it said it came from you, but when you didn’t text me back, I thought maybe you sent it to me by mistake? Did you mean to send it to one of your girlfriends?” He heard Haru calling his name, but he his left hand up, to signal to Haru that he was in the middle of something. “I’m not mad, Kou-chan.”

She twisted some of her hair around her right index finger. “Gomen, Makoto-san. I did send it by accident, but was too embarrassed to tell you.”

“Makoto!” Nagisa began to chant his name over and over from the side of the pool. Both he and Rei had returned, having changed into their swim trunks. “Makoto!”

Turning to where Nagisa was balancing on the ledge of the pool, Makoto sighed. “Nagisa, I’ll be right there. I heard you the first time, okay?” He grinned, happy that his friend really wanted to talk to him, but he still needed to finish his conversation. He turned his attention back to Gou, and bowed very slightly. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“Makoto!” Nagisa called out to him again.

He walked over to the ledge, and held out his hand to Nagisa. “Is this what you wanted?”

“I wouldn’t -” Rei said, with a slight warning, before Makoto even processed what was about to happen.

“Nagisa, no!” He shouted, but it was too late. Nagisa had grabbed his hand, pulling him into the pool, Makoto still fully dressed. At least he had acted quickly, and had let go of his school bag before being yanked into the water. He could have sworn he heard the sound of a camera, but as he went underwater, all he cared about were the wet clothes now clinging to his body.

He swam towards the shallow end, standing up to survey the damage. He pulled off his green tie, throwing it out of the pool.

“Is Makoto-chan gonna strip for us?” Nagisa teased, treading water in the deep end. Makoto sighed, watching as Haru made his second lap in the pool, since he had been forced in.

“No, no. No show today, sorry.” Makoto lifted himself out of the water. “Next time you do that, you’ll run around the school track.”

“Hah! Like Makoto-chan would actually discipline me!” Nagisa grinned, as Rei fell for the same trap. He heard the loud splash behind him, as he walked towards the locker room.

“If you push me, I might,” Makoto muttered, stripping out of his wet clothes. He reached into his pants pocket and groaned, pulling out his now water-logged phone. “Running. Laps. Tomorrow. Everyone. No excuses.” He spoke out loud to no one, upset that he was now going to have to beg his parents to get him a new phone. He finished changing out of his wet clothes, and put his swimsuit on, and headed back out to the pool.

“Now, who’s ready to practice?”

…

Rin burst out laughing, as he looked at the newest picture his sister had sent to him. He was alone in his dorm room, Nitori having gone to a study group for the night. Rin was happy to have the room to himself for a bit. He was blasting his music, working on his homework, when he had gotten distracted by the phone.

“What a little punk,” Rin chuckled, still gazing at the picture of Makoto being pulled into the pool by Nagisa. He typed back to his sister, “ _Thanks. I needed that laugh._ ” He set his phone to the side, and went back to looking at his homework.

“ _Oh! He asked about your picture!”_ Rin felt his heart begin to beat faster, surprised by what his sister had just told him.

_“What? He did? What’d you say? Did you do like I suggested?_ ” He pushed his books aside, now only focused on what his sister was going to say.

Gou was quick to reply. _“I did. He thinks it was a mistake. Don’t worry, nii-san. I’m going to send another one tonight. ‘By accident’, of course. ;)”_

Rin grinned a toothy grin, hoping that his sister was going to be actually helping him, and not hindering him. But, helping him with what? He still wasn’t quite sure, as he didn’t know how he felt about Makoto. He knew that he was excited to hear about him, and excited to get the next text, but they were all from his sister. Was that weird? Should he be texting Makoto instead? But after that last phone call, he felt so silly, not wanting to bother him. What if Makoto had a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend? Did _he_ want a boyfriend? Too many questions were plaguing Rin’s mind, that it was difficult for him to focus on his schoolwork.

He sent a final text to his sister, “ _Good luck._ ” He set his phone to silent, and went back to his homework, albeit half-heartedly.

A couple of hours later, Nitori walked into their room. “Hi, Senpai! Did you get a lot of homework done? Want to go and get a snack with me?”

“I finished it all, yeah. And, no, I’m good.” Rin was reading a book, checking his phone every two minutes, to see if his sister was going to send him anything else for the night.

“Okay, I’ll be right back then!” Nitori headed back out of the room.

Flopping on his back, Rin didn’t bother to move the hair that had fallen on his face. He was anxious, and his stomach was doing the weird thing again, as he thought about his sister sending another picture of him to Makoto. He should text her and tell her to not bother, but then dropped his phone back on the bed, refusing to go back and forth about it. He closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep, so that Nitori wouldn’t bother him when he got back to the room.

“Senpai!” Nitori called out when he got back to the room. Rin rolled over, breathing deeply to give the added effect of being asleep. “Oh, shucks. Good night, Senpai,” Nitori said quietly, while climbing up to the top bunk.

Rin rolled back over, and pulled the blankets up to his chin. He forced himself to fall asleep, as he knew waiting for another text from Gou would be pointless.

…

It had been four days since Rin had gotten a text from his sister. Four of the longest days that Rin had ever suffered through. Even worse than when he was missing home when he was back in Australia. And, the only reason he got that one in the first place was because he sent her a text, asking what the heck was going on. It wasn’t like her to just go completely silent like that, and it made him think that whatever picture she may have sent to Makoto had been the reason for her silence. As much as it bothered him to admit it, he was actually feeling rather lonely without receiving those texts he had gotten so accustomed to.

_“Sorry, nii-san. I’ve been busy with school, and then swimming club. Everything is okay over here!”_ He stared at her message, fighting the urge to throw his phone at the wall.

_“What’s going on? Did something happen? Did he say something about your second text?”_ He hoped that she knew what he was referring to. He couldn’t help but be direct, as he really wanted to know the answer.

“Senpai!” Nitori called from across the hallway. Rin glanced up, acknowledging his roommate in the crowded hallway. Two seconds later, the short grey-haired teen showed up next to him. “Hi, Senpai! How was class?”

“It was good. Didn’t really do a lot. Just took notes. You?” He kept fidgeting with his phone, that anxiety coming back as he waited for his sister to reply.

As Nitori began to speak, his phone vibrated in his hand. _“No, he didn’t say anything. But, I found out from Nagisa-kun that he doesn’t have a phone right now. That may be why._ ”

“Oh, that sounds bad.” He answered to what Nitori was saying, even though his fingers were flying over his keypad. _“No phone? Okay. Thanks for that head’s up. I’ll stop bugging you now. See you this weekend._ ”

Nitori shook his head. “It wasn’t as bad as I made it seem, Senpai, but yes. I don’t like having to dissect innocent creatures in class, but the teacher said it was mandatory for a passing grade.”

“Well, it’s done now.” Rin ran a hand through his hair. “Ready to go to practice?”

“Yes, Senpai!” Nitori nodded his head. “Captain said he had some sort of announcement today!”

They headed to the locker room together. “Announcement? Like what? Another training camp? I was supposed to go home this weekend.” Rin put his bag in his locker, and got his swim trunks on. He held his goggles in one hand, and took the towel that Nitori offered to him with his other.

“I’m not sure, Senpai.”

Rin walked out to the pool area, dropping his towel down on one of the benches. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. If we need to practice, then I guess I’ll do whatever needs to be done.”

“Senpai!” Nitori grabbed his shoulder. “Senpai, look! I think I know what the announcement is about!”

Turning in the direction that Nitori was looking, Rin felt his stomach drop to the floor, as his mouth dropped open in surprise. Across the way were the swim team from Iwatobi High School, including his sister. She waved at him, a large smile on her face. He saw that Makoto was talking to the guy with the glasses, whatever his name was. He barely heard Seijuurou calling them over, as his heart was pounding so loud in his ears, it was making him temporarily deaf.

“Ah, good. Everyone is here!” Seijuurou clapped his hands. “Today we’ve got the Iwatobi High swim club here to have another joint practice with us. It seems like they were having some trouble with their pool, and their manager reached out to me, asking if I wouldn’t mind another joint session.”

Rin glanced up, and saw that Makoto was watching him, a smile on his face. As their eyes made contact, that deafness returned, his heart hammering loud in his chest. Makoto gave a tiny wave, then broke off their eye contact, returning his attention back to Seijuurou. Rin did the same, those butterflies flying around his stomach in a vicious swarm. _Makoto’s here. Oh gosh, what do I do?_

“I thought that instead of practicing with the first years, like last time, they’d practice with everyone,  main team and the first years. But, I wanted to do something a little different. Rather than swim with the same style in each lane, I want there to be different styles going on.”

“But, captain, why?” Rin didn’t understand Seijuurou’s logic, as it didn’t make any sense to him.

“To see if it will break your concentration.” Seijuurou pointed to everyone, assigning them all to a specific lane. Rin watched as he pointed to Makoto, and then to him, and then to Nitori, to be in the lanes to the far right. “Alright, everyone to their lanes!”

Before Rin walked to his designated area, he saw that his sister was looking down at her phone. “Gou.” Her head came up, an embarrassed smile on her face.

“Onii-chan!” She put her phone away. “Surprise!”

“Surprise?!” Rin spoke quietly, not wanting the others to hear him. “This is a surprise?! Why didn’t you tell me?””

“Because then it wouldn’t have been a surprise, duh.” Nagisa appeared next to Gou, a large grin on his face. “Hi, Rin-chan! Aren’t you happy that we’re back here?”

“I guess.” Rin turned away, leaving his sister and Nagisa, and headed to his lane, before his captain called him out. He glanced at the lane on his left, and saw that Makoto was already in the water, given that his preferred stroke was the backstroke. He ran a hand through his hair nervously, his mouth suddenly having gone dry.

“I’ll try not to distract you too much, Rin.” Makoto gave a playful wink, as he grabbed onto the ledge of the pool, waiting for the countdown.

Rin stuttered, his cheeks turning a bright pink at the comment, his throat becoming even drier. He got up on his block, looking straight forward as he snapped his goggles into place. In the next lane on his right, Nitori wore a worried look on his face. As he heard the captain shout, “GO!” he dove into the water, and concentrated on his stroke. Swimming as fast he could, as his head came up on the left side to breathe, he could see Makoto was keeping pace with him. He dove under the water, somersaulting, then extended his legs to push off of the edge of the pool. Rin focused on the final lap, swimming as fast as he could, with as few breaks for breath as he could manage.

His hand hit the wall, as he stood up. Next to him, Makoto just barely touched the wall as he had come up from being under the water. Rin took off his goggles, and heard Nitori finally hit the wall, as he finished his own lap. Seijuurou began to speak, once everyone had completed their circuit.

“Nice job, everyone! It looks like Nanase-san was the clear winner this round.” Rin looked over at where Haru was, a few lanes down. He was surprised that he wasn’t the winner, as he thought he had swam a pretty good race, but was even more surprised that he didn’t feel one bit upset.

“Good race, Rin.” Makoto smiled, as he pulled himself up out of the pool.

“You too, Makoto.” Rin’s heart began to beat faster, saying the other’s name. He watched Makoto walk over to the bench where the Iwatobi had placed their stuff, trying not to stare.

“You’ll get them next race, Matsuoka-Senpai!” Nitori handed him his towel. “I thought you did really, really well!”

“Yeah?” Rin’s eyes kept gravitating back to Makoto’s back. The other swim club members had surrounded him, and were all talking jovially. He wanted his legs to move him to be closer to all of them, but his nerves were keeping them locked in place. Gou waved at him, motioning for him to go over there. He shook his head, still too scared to take those steps.

“Senpai?” Nitori took his wet towel from him. “Senpai, it looks like your sister wants to see you.”

“I know,” Rin muttered. “I guess I’ll be right back.” With Nitori’s acknowledgement, Rin knew he could no longer avoid going over there. It looked like the others were leaving, to head back to their lanes, as Seijuurou called the next race. He saw that Makoto sat down on the bench, next to where his sister was sitting. She squealed loud, as he shook out his hair, water flying in all directions.

Walking faster, he felt something different inside of him. He knew that Gou didn’t like him like that, but the way she was acting was sure giving off a different vibe. And Rin didn’t care for it at all. He was about to say something, when he stopped a few feet away from them.

“Kou! I’m so sorry!” Makoto said. “I didn’t mean to do that. I forgot you were sitting there.”

His fists unclenched as he approached the two of them. “Gou? Need a towel or something?” Rin said, making his presence known.

“Onii-chan!” Gou jumped up and shook her head. “No, I can go and get one.” She nodded her head towards Makoto. “You’re sitting out this race, too?”

“Gotta let the others swim,” Rin shrugged his shoulders, understanding his sister’s nonverbal invitation.

“That doesn’t stop Haruka-senpai,” Gou smiled.

“Gou-kun!” Seijuurou called out to her.

She groaned. “I wish he would stop calling me that.” She patted Rin’s shoulder. “Guess I’ll be right back.”

With his sister now gone, Rin was left alone with Makoto. He shifted his feet nervously, not sure if he should just sit down, or if he should go back to where his teammates were. Makoto patted the bench next to him, a smile on his face.

“Sit down with me, Rin.”

The decision was made for him, as Rin took a seat next to him, placing his hands on his lap. “Good race out there.” Rin muttered, ignoring the hammering of his heart, and slow rise of bile in his throat. He didn’t know why he was freaking out so much, as this was just Makoto. No one else. Normal, fun, cute, silly Makoto. _Cute?_ He pushed some of his hair off of his face, as he sat up straight.

“You too!” Makoto watched Rin out of the corner of his eye, unbeknownst to the redhead. “Oh, Rin! I got a new phone number. I need to give that to you before we leave here today.”

“Oh? What made you change it?” Rin played dumb, watching the swimmers in the pool. He could hear his sister laughing at something Seijuurou was saying, and could hear Nitori cheering for one of the other first years.

“I accidentally dropped it into the pool.” Makoto chuckled. “I know, you’d think I’d be more careful. But sometimes, accidents happen.”

“Yeah, like Nagisa pulling you into the pool.” Rin said, without realizing his slip.

“You knew about that?” Makoto asked, surprise in his voice.

“Oh, um...I…” Rin jumped up. Seijuurou called the end of the race, saving Rin from having to say something else. “I gotta go now!” He walked away from Makoto fast, hating himself for being so careless like that.

“Rin, wait!” Makoto called out to him, but Rin was too far away to hear him.

The rest of the practice went on without a hitch. Rin changed lanes with Nitori, to keep himself a little distant from Makoto. He felt like such a fool, admitting to him that knew what had happened. He replayed the conversation in his mind, over and over, and still couldn’t believe he had been that stupid. Jumping out of the water with Nitori’s help, they headed to the locker room together after practice.

“Want to go get some dinner, Senpai? Or are you going to head home with your sister now?” Nitori asked, as they both dried off from their showers.

Rin didn’t even think about going home with his sister. “I was going to just go home tomorrow. I didn’t expect her to be here today.”

“Oh? So, this was a surprise for you too, Senpai?” Nitori let out a sigh of relief.

“Yeah. Big surprise.” He zipped up his black jacket, not bothering to put his school uniform back on. He shoved the uniform into his bag, zipping it back up  before he placed it on his shoulder. “Come on, I’m starving.”

The two headed out of the locker room, and made their way out of the building. He saw the Iwatobi swim club leaving, heading towards two cars in the parking lot. As he and Nitori turned to head towards campus, he saw one of them running over towards them, but couldn’t see who it was, thanks to the setting sun. “Nitori. Why don’t you go ahead?” Rin said. “I think my sister wants to tell me something.” He pointed towards the shadow heading towards them.

“Okay, Senpai! I’ll be waiting in our dorm room!” Nitori skipped off, leaving Rin by himself.

As the shadow came closer, he saw that it wasn’t Gou at all. He stuck his hands in his jacket pockets, the nervousness returning full force. The shadow stood in front of him, a smile on their face.

“Glad you saw me.” Makoto held out his hand. “Here. My new number. I didn’t forget.”

Rin took the slip of paper, and stuck it in his jacket pocket. “Good practice today.”

“Same. It was nice to see you, Rin.” Makoto reached out and gave Rin a quick hug. “Call me again soon, okay?” Rin stood rigid, completely taken aback by the show of affection, and then to hear the words he had been hoping to hear suddenly leave Makoto’s mouth was almost too much for him. Makoto let go, with large, dopey grin on his face. “Have a nice weekend!” He turned around, and took off, racing back towards where the rest of his teammates were.

Rin stood in his spot, still shocked by what had just happened. His phone vibrated in his pants pocket, making him snap out of it. Pulling his phone out, he looked at the message, and groaned. _“Onii-chan, he HUGGED YOU!! I lied. I’ve been sending him pictures all week. Looks like it may be working. Sorry, but I just needed to keep this a surprise. See you tomorrow._ ” He stuck his phone back in his pocket, not sure what to say to his sister, as it looked like she had just seen everything.

Heading back to the dorms, he pulled the piece of paper that Makoto had given to him. His mouth dropped open, as he read the short note on it. _“Here’s my number. Please call me. I do miss you, a lot. Let’s go out soon._ ” In chicken scratch was his number. Rin pulled out his phone and put the new number into his phone, replacing the old one. He opened the door of the dorm room, and saw Nitori waiting patiently for him.

“Everything okay, Senpai?”

Sticking his phone back in his pocket, Rin nodded, a smile on his face. “Everything is great, Nitori.” He could feel the weight of his phone, becoming both anxious and nervous again to have Makoto’s new number, but also felt...calm. “Everything is wonderful.”

…

* * *

 

**A/N:** Up next, a possible date? Or more silly texting? Find out in the next chapter. :) Thanks for reading!


	3. Date Night

“Are you sure he said he was going to be there?” Rin spoke into his phone, walking briskly towards the mall. His other hand was shoved into his pocket, still not sure about what he was about to do.

“Positive, onii-chan.” Gou said on the other line. “He mentioned to Haru that he had to take the twins shopping for school on Saturday.”

“Why was he telling Haru that?” Rin started slow down his gait, not wanting to seem like he was out of breath, if he actually did bump into Makoto.

Gou sighed. “Onii-chan, don’t be like that.”

“Don’t be like what?” Rin stopped walking. “Gou, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. You can’t hear yourself. You sounded a little...jealous.”

Rin pulled the lid of his hat down, feeling warmth spread on his cheeks. “I didn’t mean to. I just...I don’t know what I’m doing, Gou. I feel like some sort of stalker.” He walked into the main entrance of the mall, and looked around. “Did he say what store?”

“ _Now_ you sound like a stalker.” Gou laughed. “Don’t be jealous. If you don’t see him, then oh well. Maybe you should actually _call_ him, since he did give you his new number.”

“I’m hanging up now.” The redhead’s eyes darted around, keeping his cap low on his head.

“Bye, Onii-chan. If you do run into him, just be yourself!” Gou hung up before Rin could come back with anything.

It was the day after Samezuka’s joint practice. Gou had been insufferable all morning, pestering him about how Makoto was going to be going to the mall, and how he should just happen to be there too. After hearing about it over and over, he finally got up and grabbed his things, not wanting to listen to his sister prattle on more. And now, he was standing in the middle of the mall, hoping to ‘accidentally’ run into Makoto and the twins. Rin put his phone into his pocket, the butterflies in his belly putting up a good fight as he began to walk leisurely around the mall. 

“Rin?”

The redhead stopped walking as he heard his name come from somewhere behind him. He knew that voice, knew that it was just the person he was hoping he’d bump into, and yet, it was Makoto that had spotted him first. Calming his racing heart down, he turned around casually, both hands still in his pockets. He pulled one out, and gave a small wave.

“Hey, Makoto. I didn’t expect anyone I’d know to be at the mall this early.” He heard the lies spewing forth, surprised by how calm his voice was sounding in his own ears. He for sure thought he was going to have some time before he ran into Makoto, but it looked like that was a bust. He wanted to pull the zipper up on his track jacket, afraid that his beating heart would be visible. He stayed in his spot, as he saw Makoto begin to make his way over to him.

A large smile was on the taller boy’s face. “Yeah, I had to bring the twins here for a class, and then we’re going shopping.”

“Sounds...fun.” Rin couldn’t believe the two of them were standing so close to one another. Makoto seemed to not be bothered by it, since it was his fault they were almost toe to toe. “What time is their class over?”

“In about five minutes. I’ve just been hanging out down here, and then I saw you.”

Trying not to show his surprise, Rin could only nod his head. “Oh, well. I’m sorry I didn’t see you first. I was on the phone with my sister.”

“Oh? Is she here with you?” Makoto asked.

“No, she’s back at home with our mom.” He prayed that his voice sounded normal. He sincerely hoped that Makoto was just asking to be nice, and not because he did have a crush on her. Still thinking that their plan had backfired, Rin didn’t hear what Makoto said, as he was too busy going over his silent hatred in his mind.

“Well? What do you think?” Makoto asked, waving a hand in front of Rin’s face. “Rin?”

“Huh?” He blinked a few times. “Did you ask me something?”

“I did. I asked if you wanted to maybe go see a movie tonight with me. My treat.” Makoto’s smile was infectious, as Rin felt his lips start to turn up into a smile all on their own.

“I don’t have any plans, so sure.” Rin nodded. “Do you just want to meet here?”

Makoto shook his head, making Rin’s palms begin to sweat as he became worried. _Why is he saying no?_ Makoto looked at his watch, and then spoke. “I’ll come pick you up. If anything changes, I’ll call you. Does 6 work? We can grab a quick bite to eat either before or after.”

“6pm?” Rin heard Makoto, and heard himself parrot it back to him, but it wasn’t fully registering. “Sure?”

“Okay, great.” Makoto stepped forward, and placed his arms around Rin, just as he had done the day before. This time, Rin raised his arms up tentatively, giving the teen a return hug. “I’ll see you around 6. Does your mom still live in the same place?”

“Yes,” Rin felt his fingers flexing, almost grabbing onto the back of Makoto’s shirt. He inhaled, smelling a hint of fresh laundry, with a hint of... _sandalwood_? But then, the hug was over, as Makoto pulled himself away. “I guess I’ll see you tonight?”

“See you then!” Makoto gave a small wave, before he sauntered off towards wherever the twins were having their class. Rin watched him until he was almost out of sight, then made his way back out of the mall.

When he returned home, he opened the door without any fanfare, and headed towards the couch in the living room. He saw Gou sitting on the loveseat, with her laptop perched on her lap. Not bothering to acknowledge her, he sank down into the soft cushions and pulled his hat down lower on his head.

“Oh, no! What happened?? Did something go wrong? Did you see him with someone else? I thought for sure he wasn’t dating anymore.” Gou got up and sat down next to him. “Onii-chan, what is it? Please, tell me?”

Exhaling, Rin pulled the hat off of his head. He rested his elbows on his thighs, and let his head drop into his hands, groaning. “I have a date tonight.”

“WHAT?!?!” Gou shouted, jumping up off the couch. She began to bounce around, her squeals piercing Rin’s eardrums.

“Gou! Shut up!” Rin covered his ears, a small smile crossing his lips. He began to laugh, shaking his head. “Gou, seriously. Mom is gonna come in here, thinking I murdered you or something. Knock it off!” He threw one of the throw pillows at her, finally getting her to stop her squealing.

“You are so mean!” She threw the pillow back at him. “I thought something had gone wrong!”

Running a hand through his hair, Rin shook his head. “I still don’t know what the heck is going on. He actually saw me first, and then I guess when I was starting to think he liked you, when he asked about you -”

“Onii-chan…”

“I know, I know.” Rin sighed. “Well, I guess he asked me to the movies, but I wasn’t paying attention? So he asked again, and I said yes.”

“Aren’t you happy?! Isn’t this what you wanted?” Gou began to bounce next to him, her energy zapping any that he had.

“I am, but I’m really nervous. And I don’t know why, because it’s not like we’re not just two guys who are friends.” Rin shook his head. “Look, I don’t want to think about it, because I’m just going to worry myself for the rest of the day if I do.”

“What time is he coming over? Or are you guys meeting at the movies?” Gou got up, and went back to her spot on the loveseat, giving Rin some breathing room.

Closing his eyes, Rin let out another soft sigh. “He was insistent on picking me up. He’ll be here at 6 tonight.”

“Oh...my...gosh. It’s a real date! Rin!! It worked!! He likes you!” Gou laughed more, clapping her hands. “Do you want me to be your chaperone?”

“NO!” Rin shouted, shaking his head. That sent his sister into another fit of giggles, as his cheeks flamed with embarrassment. “No, I don’t need that.”

“You sure?” Gou asked, after calming down again.

“You do realize you’re younger than me, right? And if anyone should be chaperoning, it should be me for you. Not the other way around.” Rin stood up from the couch. “Look, I’ll be in my room.” He began to walk out, leaving his sister alone.

“MOM!! RIN HAS A DATE TONIGHT!”

Sighing, Rin headed back to his bedroom, but couldn’t keep the smile from appearing, as he thought about just what his sister had said. It sure felt like it was going to be a date, but Rin was almost too cautious to call it that, afraid of being let down. He knew he wanted it to be a date, as Makoto was the only thing he thought about, even more than swimming, and really wanted to make a good impression. Which was silly, since they were old friends. _Is it even possible? Oh gosh, what if he just wants to see a movie and didn’t want to go with his brother and sister? Or what if Haru is busy tonight, and I’m now second choice. Or, what if he isn’t gay, but does have the hots for my sister, and is just using me to get to her?_ Rin fell face first onto his bed, tired of the same questions running through his mind over and over.

Six o’clock couldn’t arrive fast enough.

…

“Are you really going out, nii-san?” Both Ren and Ran were in Makoto’s room, sitting on his bed while he got ready to go out.

Makoto fixed his tie, and gave a small nod of his head. “I am, Ren. But I won’t be out too late. I should be back home in time to read you guys your bedtime story. Would you like that?”

“Yes, please, onii-san!” Ran nodded her head, smiling. “You look very nice in that outfit.”

“Do I? It isn’t too much, is it? Should I change? I should change.” He stared at himself in the mirror, fiddling with the deep red tie more. The color reminded him of Rin’s hair, and thought it would hopefully compliment whatever Rin chose to wear. He thought it would be nice to show up in a suit, as he never got to wear one, and wanted to look nice for Rin. He walked back over to his closet, and began to go through his tee-shirts.

“No, don’t change!” Ran jumped off the bed. “I said you looked nice!” She crossed her arms. “He looks nice, right, Ren?”

Ren only nodded, as he was too busy trying to fight a boss in the video game he was playing. Makoto’s shoulders dropped forward. “You sure it isn’t too much? What if I’m overdressed?”

“You like this person, yes?” Ran sat next to her brother, taking the controller away from him after he died. Makoto nodded, waiting for his sister to continue. “It seems like you do, because you keep looking at yourself in the mirror. You look nice. They will like it. What’s her name?”

Blushing, Makoto looked down. “His name is Rin.”

“The guy you used to swim with?” Ren glanced up.

“Yes, that would be the one.”

“Cool.” Ren grabbed the controller out of Ran’s hands, and went back to playing the game after his sister died.

“Ren!!” Ran pushed her brother’s shoulder. “No fair! I wasn’t finished yet!”

“Guys, what did I say? If you can’t play nice together, then you can’t play in my room.” Makoto checked his tie for the millionth time, and grabbed a pair of black and white basketball shoes, as he didn’t want to be _too_ formal.

“Okay, onii-san.” The twins chorused together, immediately stopping their small fight.

He walked over to the both of them, and gave their hair a gentle ruffle. “You two behave for mom and dad tonight. Like I said, I should be home for your bedtime story. If I’m not, then be nice to mom and let her read to you, okay?”

“But she doesn’t do the voices like you do!” Ran complained. Makoto held up his hand, stopping his sister from continuing.

“I’ll make it up to you tomorrow night, okay?” He kissed both the tops of their head, grabbing his glasses off the table and placing them in his jacket pocket. “See you two later.”

“Have fun, onii-chan!” Ran whispered something to her brother, making Ren laugh. Makoto rolled his eyes and left his bedroom, leaving the door open.

“Do you need any money?” Makoto’s mom asked, as he stood by the door, lacing up his shoes. “Here, take this.” She handed him 5000 yen.

“I have money, Mom. It’s okay, I don’t need this.” He tried to hand her back to bills, but she would not take them.

“Have fun tonight. You look very handsome.” She fixed his hair, smiling. “My baby is all grown up.”

Blushing, Makoto shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mom. I’ll be home later, okay?”

“Just be careful.” Makoto’s dad spoke, looking up from the book he was reading from. “I know this town is safe and all, but you can’t be too careful.”

Makoto nodded, as he put the money his mom gave him into his wallet. “I will, otousan.” He opened the door, and headed out, his heart beating fast.

He really hoped he wasn’t overdressed.

…

“Gou! Where are my shoes?!” Rin shouted. “I haven’t been home for more than twenty-four hours, and my shoes are already missing!”

“Relax, onii-chan! You’ll find them. It’s not like you waited until just before six to see where they were.” The clock started to chime the time. “Oh, whoops. I mean, I guess you did.”

Before he could answer his sister, their doorbell rang. “He’s here.” Rin said, feeling his stomach drop to his feet, his nerves skyrocketing. He had been a mess all afternoon, trying to find something decent to wear. He didn’t really have a lot of stuff at his mom’s place, only keeping the essentials at home. Luckily, he had found a nice polo shirt buried deep in his closet, having no memory of ever purchasing such an item.

“I’ll go answer it!” Gou raced out of his room fast, leaving Rin flustered while he continued to search for his shoes. He needed a pair of nice trainers, as his normal footwear would not look good with the khaki pants and polo outfit he had assembled.

He heard the front door open, and heard her sister exclaim something unintelligible. Finally finding the mate to his shoe, Rin stood up and walked out of his room, holding a shoe in each hand. He stopped walking when he saw Makoto standing in the foyer, almost falling backwards by how...attractive he looked.

The first thing he noticed was the suit that he was wearing, and then his eyes were immediately drawn to the tie around his neck. He glanced down at himself, suddenly not so worried that the color of the polo he chose happened to be a somewhat similar shade of green that reminded him of Makoto’s eyes. He almost dropped his shoes, feeling even more nervous than he had been only moments before.

“Konbanwa, Rin.” Makoto’s smile went all the way up to his eyes. “Are you ready to go?”

Slipping on his shoes, Rin nodded. “I am.” He grabbed a light jacket from the closet, and glared daggers at his sister, who was making faces behind Makoto’s back, albeit happy ones. “I’ll be home later.”

“Okay, onii-chan. Makoto-senpai, have a nice night!” Gou waved, and practically shoved the two of them out of the house together.

Rin looked up at Makoto, and allowed his eyes to fully appreciate the breathtaking teen next to him. “I hope you didn’t get dressed up like that on account of us just going to the movies.”

“And what if I did?” Makoto asked, as the two of them began to walk towards the center of town. “Did you decide to wear that because of me? Or do you leave all your clothes in your dorm?”

Blushing, Rin didn’t know what to say. Should he admit that he did dress nice for him? What if, what if, what if. Those two words kept spinning in Rin’s mind, and the redhead quickly shut them up, and gave a small nod of his head. “I wanted to look nice for you.” He spoke quietly, afraid he sounded like an idiot.

“I did too.” Makoto reached for his hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze. Rin tried to not freak out, as he kept holding his hand, not letting go the entire time they walked to the theater, not really speaking at all.

True to his word, Makoto bought his ticket for the movie, even though Rin had brought money with him. As they walked into an almost empty theater, Rin looked at Makoto. “Where should we sit?”

“How about the middle?” Makoto suggested, lacing his fingers with Rin’s again, as they walked down the aisle together.

Rin’s mind was in overdrive. He didn’t know what he should say, if anything, or just let him keep holding his hand. He rather enjoyed it, how...nice it felt. He didn’t realize how much he enjoyed it until they had stopped holding hands when Makoto had paid for the movie, but now that they were joined once more, he felt better. They sat down in the seats, and watched the pre-movie commercials.

“Did you think of a place to get some food after the movie?” Makoto asked, lifting up the armrest between their seats. Rin watched as their joined hands landed naturally on the space between their seats, their knees barely brushing against each other. “Or, would you like me to go get some popcorn for us? Consider that dinner?” Makoto took his glasses out of his jacket pocket, and put them on, making Rin’s heart beat faster at how cute he looked with them on his face.

“No, no popcorn.” He shook his head, resting against the seat comfortably. “I don’t know. Maybe some sushi? Street food? It doesn’t matter.”

“Are you nervous, Rin?” Makoto asked, lowering his voice, the theater beginning to become more crowded, as it got closer to showtime.

“I’m...I’m not sure.” Rin replied honestly.

Makoto gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “We’ll talk after the movie, okay? I promise.”

Rin had no chance to reply, as the lights began to dim. The first trailer began, the theater becoming almost silent, as the audience sat enraptured of the newest coming attraction. Turning his head a little, Rin glanced at Makoto out of the side of his eye, and saw that Makoto was watching him, that same infectious smile on his face. Blushing brightly, Rin went back to watching the screen, butterflies flying away carelessly in his stomach. _Maybe he does like me…?_

They both laughed at the same moments during the film, and gasped at the same moments as well. It was a first for Rin, as he had never had someone share the same sort of reactions with him during a movie. Their hands remained joined throughout the entire film. Even though Rin knew his hand was probably gross and sweaty from nerves, Makoto never said a word. As the lights came back up, after they sat through the entire credits, their hands finally came apart.

“I don’t know about you, but I am starving. And I know the perfect place to go.” Makoto stood up, and held his hand back out towards Rin. He took it without hesitation, remembering the picture his sister had sent to him. He immediately regretted it, as he didn’t want to think that Makoto acted this way with everyone, when he hoped, deep down, that he was the only special one.

“Well, let’s go, then. Food sounds really good right now.” Rin walked next to him, after slipping on his jacket. He watched as Makoto began to take off his glasses. “No, don’t?”

“Don’t?” Makoto asked, clearly confused. “Don’t go and get food?”

“No, don’t take off your glasses.” Rin reached over, and gently pushed them back up on Makoto’s face. “I like how you look in them. Unless they hurt your eyes, wearing them like this?”

Makoto’s cheeks became slightly pink. “No, they don’t hurt my eyes. I should wear them more, but I forget sometimes. I just try and let my eyes adjust.”

“Don’t ruin your eyesight.” Rin said, pleased that Makoto seemed to be receptive to his request. They walked out of the theater together, and made their way down the street.

As they walked, their hands swung slightly, neither one really making any conversation. Rin was almost positive that Makoto could feel how fast his heart was still beating through his hand, as he could feel his pulse happening in his fingertips. He kicked a small rock towards the street, just focusing on how the night seemed to be progressing, rather than paying attention to where he was walking.

“Rin!” Makoto pulled him backwards with a little force, their hands no longer intertwined, as Makoto held onto both of Rin’s upper arms. Blinking, he saw that he almost walked into the street when it was not their turn to walk yet.

“Sorry,” Rin looked down, feeling flustered at how silly he must look. “Thanks, Makoto.”

Makoto wrapped his arms around Rin’s chest, giving him a backwards hug. “Do I really make you that nervous? Please don’t feel that way around me, Rin. I really like you, but I don’t want you to get hurt because of it.”

“I…” Rin was glad that Makoto couldn’t see his face, as he felt his embarrassment travel up to his face. “I just don’t understand what’s going on.”

The light finally changed, as the pair parted. “I know, Rin. Come on. The restaurant is over there. I said we’d talk, and that’s what I plan on doing.” Makoto took Rin’s hand, and led him across the street, Rin pushing what had just happened out of his mind.

They were seated at a booth towards the back, allowing the two of them some privacy. After the waiter took their drink order, Makoto’s green eyes lit up with the large smile on his face.

“So, I think your sister is trying to set the two of us up.” Makoto said, nonchalantly.

Rin spit out some of the water he had been drinking. He wiped his face off with his napkin, while he listened to Makoto’s gentle laughter. “What makes you say that?”

“She keeps sending me pictures of you. At first, I thought it was a mistake, but then they kept coming. And, really, it was nice to see you.”

Stunned, Rin looked at Makoto, not at all expecting to hear the same thoughts he had been having come out of the teen’s mouth. “Oh?”

Makoto nodded. “That’s why, when I saw you this morning, I knew that I just had to ask you out for tonight. I’m really happy you said yes, because if you hadn’t, I don’t know what I would have done.”

“I…” Rin was speechless. Before he could say anything in reply, the waiter came back over and took their order, and took away their menus. Rin could no longer hide behind anything.

“I want to say that you like me too, because you didn’t stop holding my hand during the movie. But, maybe you were just being polite.” Makoto began to fiddle with the silverware on the table, no longer looking at Rin as he spoke. “And if that’s the case, that’s okay. I’m just happy we got to see a movie together.”

“Makoto, I like you.” Rin got the teen to stop talking. “I know my sister has been doing that, because I asked her to.” He couldn’t believe he was telling him the truth, but it was too late to take it back.

Green eyes met his. “Really? But, why?” Makoto asked.

“Ever since I knew you guys were on the island, and I had made a comment about you, she started to send me texts of you.” Rin rushed his words out. “And that night that I called you, it was because I had been waiting to see if she was going to send me something else, and when she didn’t… I just called you, because you were on my mind, and I was hoping it would calm me down.”

“Rin…” Makoto reached across the table, and took one of Rin’s hands, which the redhead was more than grateful to allow. “What did you say to her about me?”

“I asked her how you were handling the training, because I know you don’t like the ocean.” Rin met his eyes. “And because I did that, she thought it meant that I cared for you, and in a way, I guess she was right, because I do. I care about you a lot, and I really, really like you.” His heart hammered loud in his chest, feeling both happy and terrified that he just told Makoto everything.

“You remembered?” Rin nodded his head, keeping his eyes locked onto Makoto’s. “I’m glad that you called me that night,” Makoto smiled, making Rin’s lips turn upwards in reaction to it. “I like you a lot too.”

The waiter came back over with their order, putting the food down in front of them. “How about we save the more serious talk until after we finish eating?” Rin suggested, wanting to enjoy the meal, even though he knew that whatever else they talked about, it could only be about good things. The worst seemed to be over, much to Rin’s relief.

“Good plan.” Makoto nodded.

“Itadakimasu.” Both bowed their heads, and spoke in unison quietly.

As they ate, their conversation was kept light, talking about what they both liked and disliked about the movie they saw. Rin couldn’t believe how fast the time seemed to be going, as the plates were suddenly cleared, and Makoto was now taking care of the bill.

“I was going to pay,” Rin said, watching as Makoto put the tip down on the table.

“I said I wanted to treat you, so don’t worry about it.” Makoto stood up, and offered his hand to Rin. The redhead took it with a smile on his face, no more doubt lingering in his mind. “May I walk you back home?”

“I’d like that.” Rin nodded, as the two of them left the restaurant together.

Walking along the darkened street, the sounds of the ocean, and night insects, filled the air. Rin walked close to Makoto, unsure of what was going to happen when they got back to his house. They never did finish their serious discussion back at dinner, and now, instead of being happy about how their date was going, he couldn’t help but worry that something was going to change.

About a block away from Rin’s house, Makoto stopped walking, pausing directly under a streetlight, causing Rin to stop as well. Makoto let go of his hand, and moved to stand in front of him. Rin looked up, the deafness returning as his heart pounded hard, his mouth becoming dry.

“Rin, I don’t know what’s going on between us, but I know that I like you. If it bothers you that I’m a guy, I understand. I’m not sure about how all of this will work, but I know that I’d like to try. If you’re scared to lose my friendship, you won’t.”

“How can you say that? You don’t know that.” Rin shook his head. “And I don’t care that you’re a guy. I thought that _you_ would care.”

Makoto’s face lit up with another big smile. “Really? If it doesn’t bother you, then say you’ll be my boyfriend. I’d like to go out with you again, and would really like to start texting just you. Tell your sister to stop sending me texts.”

“But, what if…”

“No what ifs, Rin.” Makoto cupped his face with both of his hands, the warmth of his palms on Rin’s face sent shivers down his spine. “You are mine, and I am yours. We’ll learn about this together.” He was going cross eyed, as he kept his eyes locked onto Makoto’s.

Parting his lips with a soft sigh of acceptance, Rin closed his eyes as he felt Makoto’s lips touch his tentatively with a soft pressure. _Kiss. Kiss. He’s kissing me. Kissing me._ Their kiss only lasted a few moments, but to Rin, time had stood still. Those lips moving in perfect sync with his, and then, it was over.

He took a few deep breaths, as Makoto removed his hands from his face. “Boyfriends?”

“Yes.” Makoto nodded his head. “Boyfriends.”

Rin took his hand, now wearing a large smile on his face. “I like the sound of that.”

They headed the rest of the way to Rin’s house. As they stood on the porch, Rin slipped his left arm under Makoto’s right arm, and placed his other over Makoto’s left shoulder. They hugged each other tightly, their hearts pounding together in a staccato rhythm. He kissed Makoto’s cheek, before letting go of the taller teen.

“Thank you for tonight, Makoto. I had a very nice time.”

Makoto grinned sheepishly. “I did too, Rin. Hope you sleep well. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Rin nodded. “Be safe walking home.”

“I will.” Makoto kissed his cheek in return, and turned on his heel. “Good night!” He gave a small wave, and walked back towards the street.

Rin waited until Makoto was further down the street, before he opened the front door. He knew that he wasn’t going to escape the twenty questions he knew were coming from his younger sister, but was secretly hoping she was asleep, so he could think about what just happened.

“HE KISSED YOU!!!!!!” Gou pounced him, hugging him tightly.

“Gou!! Shhh!!!” Rin laughed, hugging his sister back. “Don’t wake up mom!”

“She’s out right now. I’m the only one here. Oh my gosh, onii-chan! You have to tell me everything!!”

“I will, but I gotta go do something first.” He let go of her, and headed back to his bedroom.

Once he was there, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Scrolling through his contacts, he stopped when he got to Makoto’s name, and pulled up a new text message. Typing quickly, he sent the message, as he leaned against his closed bedroom door. After he hit send, he stared at the words, the butterflies that had become a permanent fixture in his stomach began moving quickly. _“Thank you for tonight. And thank you for my first kiss. I’m really glad Gou did this for us.”_ He stared at the message, almost willing Makoto to reply to it. Just as he was about to put his phone back in his pocket, it vibrated in his hand, the screen lighting up with Makoto’s reply.

_“There will be a lot of firsts, I’m sure. :) Good night, Rin-chan. I’m at home now. Sweet dreams.”_

Sinking to the floor, Rin could not keep the goofy smile off of his face. _“Same to you. Good night._ ” He burst out laughing, the sheer joy he was feeling could no longer be contained. Gou opened the door, making him fall forward, but he didn’t care.

“Is he your boyfriend now??” Gou asked, standing over him. “Just tell me that, and I’ll leave you alone. I swear.”

Rin crawled over to his bed, still chuckling to himself, feeling lighter than air. “Yes, Gou. We’ve decided to go out together. So, I guess I owe you.”

“That’s right, you do!” Gou kissed her brother on the cheek. “I’m so happy for you onii-san. Don’t stay up too late thinking about him, okay?” She left the room, closing the door behind her.

Stretching out, Rin set his phone next to his pillow, as he had gotten into the habit of doing back in the dorm. “Can’t make that promise, Gou.”

He rolled over, closing his eyes, and replayed the entire date in his head, a large smile on his face. He didn’t know what was going to happen, but the excitement was greater than the fear at the moment. Rin was really glad that he had told his sister about his concern, because he wouldn’t be where he was at without that moment happening. Sometimes, when a person least expects it, happiness falls into their lap. And Rin was happy, very happy.

* * *

 

**A/N** : And thus concludes this tale. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. I’m debating about continuing it, but it would be a separate story. If you’d like to see that, please let me know. :) Thanks so much for reading!


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